March 18th, 2025
This week, I’ve been thinking about a story in the Bible differently than I ever have. If you’ve been weary, distracted, or busy, I encourage you to keep reading. Luke 10:38-40 says,
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
Now on the surface of this story, Martha doesn’t seem wrong. She was serving Jesus Himself. She was literally working for the Lord. However, Jesus responded to her complaint saying,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)
The verbiage in this scripture is interesting. It says Mary sat, “at the feet of Jesus.” When a disciple in those days was following a particular teacher, they were said to “sit at their feet.” It’s why Paul said in Acts 22:3,
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers…”
I believe that wording was used intentionally in Luke 10 to indicate the posture of Mary’s heart. Mary wasn’t listening to Jesus because it was the only thing to get her out of helping her sister serve. She had chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus as would any disciple. She prioritized sitting at His feet, and Jesus affirmed her, saying she’d chosen “the good portion.”
There is always work to be done, but there are moments at His feet we cannot miss.
David understood this truth. He was a king and military man – a man who knew how to work. However, David also knew how to be still in God’s presence. He knew how to spend time in prayer and worship. It was that lifestyle that caught God’s attention when David was just a shepherd boy with a harp. David said in Psalm 27:4,
“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.’
The one thing David asked for was to dwell in God’s house, in order to gaze upon Him.
The word “dwell” means to sit or inhabit. According to scholars, the word “conveys the idea of remaining in a place, staying in a location, or taking a seat.” Interestingly, that is exactly what Mary did when she sat at the feet of Jesus. She chose to remain when there were other things she would have been expected to do. Mary’s choice to sit and listen to Jesus when there was serving to be done would have likely been looked down on by more than just Martha. First of all, she was a woman, and secondly, there was work she should have been doing. However, Jesus didn’t correct her but instead praised her for choosing to stay at His feet.
David prayed that he would dwell in the house of the Lord in order to gaze at Him. The word gaze means to see or to behold. It’s not a passing glance. You can’t gaze in a moment. While Martha was serving, she wouldn’t have been able to see the Lord except in passing, when she looked up from what she was doing. Mary, on the other hand, had her eyes fixed on Jesus, focused on every word He was saying.
Isaiah 26:3 says,
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Peace comes from keeping the eyes of our hearts fixed on Jesus. We need a fixation with His word and His presence. It’s a lifestyle that comes from learning to sit at His feet. When you draw near to God, He will draw near to you and it’s that intimacy that will motivate passion for His kingdom. It’s important to work and be productive, and in the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus wasn’t belittling the importance of serving. He emphasized the importance of choosing to sit at His feet.
This week, I encourage you to allow all the noise to die down until the cry of your heart is to sit in His presence. There is a time that we must set everything else aside just to be with Him, just to listen. We have to choose to dwell in the Lord’s house and fix our gaze on Him, just like David and just like Mary. All those things take time and it’s a choice no one can make for us. Jesus is waiting for those who long to sit at His feet. We can’t physically sit at Jesus’ feet, yet, but He is the Word made flesh. We choose to sit at His feet by letting our lives become shaped by His Word and prioritizing the Father’s presence in our lives. When we sit down to read the Bible and spend time with Jesus, He is as willing to teach us as He was to teach Mary. It’s only at His feet that peace and purpose are found!
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
Now on the surface of this story, Martha doesn’t seem wrong. She was serving Jesus Himself. She was literally working for the Lord. However, Jesus responded to her complaint saying,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)
The verbiage in this scripture is interesting. It says Mary sat, “at the feet of Jesus.” When a disciple in those days was following a particular teacher, they were said to “sit at their feet.” It’s why Paul said in Acts 22:3,
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers…”
I believe that wording was used intentionally in Luke 10 to indicate the posture of Mary’s heart. Mary wasn’t listening to Jesus because it was the only thing to get her out of helping her sister serve. She had chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus as would any disciple. She prioritized sitting at His feet, and Jesus affirmed her, saying she’d chosen “the good portion.”
There is always work to be done, but there are moments at His feet we cannot miss.
David understood this truth. He was a king and military man – a man who knew how to work. However, David also knew how to be still in God’s presence. He knew how to spend time in prayer and worship. It was that lifestyle that caught God’s attention when David was just a shepherd boy with a harp. David said in Psalm 27:4,
“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.’
The one thing David asked for was to dwell in God’s house, in order to gaze upon Him.
The word “dwell” means to sit or inhabit. According to scholars, the word “conveys the idea of remaining in a place, staying in a location, or taking a seat.” Interestingly, that is exactly what Mary did when she sat at the feet of Jesus. She chose to remain when there were other things she would have been expected to do. Mary’s choice to sit and listen to Jesus when there was serving to be done would have likely been looked down on by more than just Martha. First of all, she was a woman, and secondly, there was work she should have been doing. However, Jesus didn’t correct her but instead praised her for choosing to stay at His feet.
David prayed that he would dwell in the house of the Lord in order to gaze at Him. The word gaze means to see or to behold. It’s not a passing glance. You can’t gaze in a moment. While Martha was serving, she wouldn’t have been able to see the Lord except in passing, when she looked up from what she was doing. Mary, on the other hand, had her eyes fixed on Jesus, focused on every word He was saying.
Isaiah 26:3 says,
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Peace comes from keeping the eyes of our hearts fixed on Jesus. We need a fixation with His word and His presence. It’s a lifestyle that comes from learning to sit at His feet. When you draw near to God, He will draw near to you and it’s that intimacy that will motivate passion for His kingdom. It’s important to work and be productive, and in the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus wasn’t belittling the importance of serving. He emphasized the importance of choosing to sit at His feet.
This week, I encourage you to allow all the noise to die down until the cry of your heart is to sit in His presence. There is a time that we must set everything else aside just to be with Him, just to listen. We have to choose to dwell in the Lord’s house and fix our gaze on Him, just like David and just like Mary. All those things take time and it’s a choice no one can make for us. Jesus is waiting for those who long to sit at His feet. We can’t physically sit at Jesus’ feet, yet, but He is the Word made flesh. We choose to sit at His feet by letting our lives become shaped by His Word and prioritizing the Father’s presence in our lives. When we sit down to read the Bible and spend time with Jesus, He is as willing to teach us as He was to teach Mary. It’s only at His feet that peace and purpose are found!
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